A Little More On Outfest

My experience at this year's Outfest was different from last year in some ways. For one, I didn't see Kendra Wilkinson or any other "reality" TV "stars," which also meant that I didn't make it to national television. That didn't bother me. What did bother me a little is that the protestors who always show up at these things, while still small in number, were louder.

At least three of them, on different streets, had portable PA systems and were going on almost non-stop harassing passersby with their hatemongering. I say "almost" because there was one brief moment when someone yanked the microphone cord out, silencing the bigot. The guy who did this was immediately pounced upon by the waiting police.

I realize that these religious freaks have their rights, since the festival was out on the public streets, and I know that police have to do their jobs to keep the peace. But this sight really sickened me. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion really sucks sometimes. (Programming note: I still need to write about those "Occupy ____" people soon.) I wish there were a way to discourage these people from showing up at all. I use this analogy often: they're dinosaurs, stuck in tar pits, and soon to be extinct. I just wish the process could speed up a little. And I still think the rest of us ought to show up at their events now and then and enjoy our same freedoms.

Strike A Pose At Outfest

At one point during Sunday's Outfest I made my way towards the main stage to watch the performance by  Chad D, a local guy who now lives in New York City and recently released his first album, "The Human Link." (Here are links to his Twitter and Facebook pages, and check out more, including some of his songs, here.) I took a brief video and tried posting it to Facebook, but it never showed up there, nor did the other two videos I sent. (A better video -- better sound and containing the entire performance -- is here.) I also took a photo, although I couldn't really see exactly what I got due to the glare from the sun. I moved the photos and video from my phone to my hard drive tonight. Here's the pic (cropped a bit):

Obviously I caught him mid-dance. Looking at it, at first it reminded me of this...

...which is entirely appropriate as Tuesday is National Coming Out Day and Outfest is our celebration of the day (and I'll have some more on that in a separate post, hopefully tomorrow). But, looking at it again, I sort of thought about something else instead... ;-)

My National TV Debut

Remember when I went to Outfest in October?

Remember how I was walking along and suddenly found TV cameras in front of me?

Remember how I learned that the cameras were there to record Kendra Wilkinson for her "reality" TV show on the E! Network? Remember how I took a couple of pictures of her?

Turns out, the episode aired recently, and I DVR'd a repeat of it last night. The whole thing revolved around her personal assistant, Eddie (pictured with Kendra), who hadn't yet come out to his parents. Naturally, he and Kendra talked about the subject. Naturally, the concierge in the building where Kendra, hubby Hank Baskett and their infant son lived (before Hank was cut by the Eagles early in the 2010 season) was gay. Naturally, Eddie and the concierge talked about the subject. Naturally, Outfest was about to take place. Naturally, the concierge suggested Eddie attend. Naturally, Kendra wanted to tag along. Naturally, the three of them wandered the streets that day. (I say "naturally" all these times because only in "reality" TV can such a confluence of events occur.)

So, naturally...

Outfest: Pride And Prejudice

Before I discuss Outfest itself, here are a couple of pictures I took on Wednesday when the Rainbow Flag was raised at City Hall in honor of LGBT History Month. I hadn't realized that the flagpoles in question were sitting at ground level and didn't go extremely far up. Still, it's a nice honor. I did read that the flag was only raised temporarily, and then taken down until the 15th because they had to put back up the Puerto Rican flag that was raised in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (mid-September to mid-October). That seems to be a slight to both, in a way. Perhaps they'll work things out differently next year.

The Rainbow Flag after being raised

Mayor Michael Nutter speaking

As for Sunday, when I got downtown and walked down 13th Street towards the festival, the first thing I saw was the protesters. There's a small group of religious nuts that shows up every year at the Pride festival in June, as well as at Outfest. The reactions to these protesters ranges from trying to reason with them (complete waste of time) to heckling to making jokes to angry yelling. There's always a police presence to keep the peace, which is a good thing because if there weren't, I know there'd be trouble.

This year, in addition to the small group standing near the barricade with the loudspeaker blaring their message of hate, there were a few people walking around the festival with t-shirts saying "God hates you" and "God hates sinners" -- sort of like what the Westboro Baptist creeps wear, but none of them actually said "God hates fags," as the Phelps nuts wear. Also, their sayings were either written in pen or painted. They were quite crudely written. I guess those people were too poor to afford anything better.

Meanwhile, I almost literally walked into a film crew walking backwards. I had no idea who they were filming until I looked at one of their credentials.